Belle nervously checked her watch. It was already six; his plane should have arrived. She took another sip from her double espresso. Charles de Gaulle was unusually free that morning and she felt awkward being the only person in the cafeteria. Her cup stopped midway to her lips. Her heart skipped a beat. She left her cup on the small plate and raced up to him. He stopped; arranging his stroller. He raised an eyebrow.

"Edward, I'm so glad you're here," she breathlessly said.

"Are you now?" he was bored. "Lead the way," he started walking.

"How are things back in Manhattan?" she asked biting her lower lip.

"The way I left them?" he asked. "Serena fainted for some reason and May Humphrey's father seems to be involved too. I can't see how, but then again I didn't have enough time since my former stepsister called me to tell me that she lost a sixteen year old in Paris of all places!" he sarcastically said.

"I…" she tried saying something while getting out of the car.

"How could you let this happen, Belle?!" he was unusually outraged.

"I thought she was mature enough and sensible enough!" Belle snapped.

"What were you doing in Paris in the first place?" he asked.

"I…I can't tell you," she looked at their feet.

"Well that's a good start in finding her," he folded his hands over his chest.

"I can't, Edward!" she yelled glaring at him. "I can't," she breathed. "It's not my secret to tell."

"Great," he yawned as the care pulled up in front of the Hilton hotel. "Did she call?"

"No," she sternly said.

"Does she have any money on her?"

"I don't think so," she ushered him to a separate room where a breakfast table was set.

"What did she say?" he took a seat.

"I saw her in the morning. She seemed calm so I went for a manicure. She didn't want one. When I visited her room again, the door was opened, her things were there and on the desk there was a note that said: I'm sorry, Belle, but I can't go back."

"Such melodrama," he grimaced as he chewed on his croissant.

"I checked the whole area. I couldn't find her. I don't even know where she spent the night!"

"Tell me something, Belle," he eyes her carefully. "Why did you call me and not you obeying Alexander or your charming Kurt? They're even related to her."

"I was scared, okay? I panicked and…"

"And?"

"And no one knows this town better than you…" she weakly said. "Why did you come?"

"I really was concerned about Rebecca. She's my best friend's little sister," he coldly replied.

Belle rolled her eyes. "Who is not speaking to you."

"Because of you," he bitterly added. "Enough with the talking!" he drained his coffee. "Let's start searching."

They exited the Hilton and went back in the car.

"So, the reason why you took her here," he started. "Is it that bad?"

"Well, she did fall out with Jane pretty bad," she paused. "Really bad. She doubted that her sister will ever want to speak with her again."

Edward shivered. "Do you think it was enough to make her, you know…kill herself?"

"K-kill herself?" Belle gulped.

"Well she was foolish enough to run away in a city she barely knows," he said. "Maybe she threw herself in the Seine."

"I hope not. Can you please tell the driver to take us to the Seine?"

After clearing his voice, Edward instructed the driver to take them to the Seine. Just then, Belle's phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered. "Dad, hi!" she cried. "I'm fine. Everything's fine. Rebecca too. Oh, dad, I'm really sorry. It's just that we felt really trapped back there. It won't happen again. Oh, you're with mom? What's up with her? Nauseous? Well take good care of her. I will. Hey, how is Serena? Yeah. Yeah. Great. Love you too. Bye!" she shut her phone. "God!"

"What's wrong with Blair?" Edward asked.

"I don't know, probably stomach flu," she shrugged. "It's so tiring to pretend everything's alright."

"You must have experience in that," he muttered. She wanted to cut him off, but the car stopped. "We're here."

They went down to the promenade.

"It's huge," Belle could barely spot the end.

"That's why we don't have much time," he took off his jacket and hung it over his shoulder.

"The climate here is so humid," she closed her eyes.

"Compared to New York it is," he unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up just above his elbow.

She stared at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Sure, make yourself comfortable while I have to struggle in these shoes," she pointed to her bright red stilettos.

"You can always take them off," he shrugged. She rolled her eyes. "The pavement is really sandy and who is going to see you down here?"

"Well, I don't know," she looked at her soaring feet. "Maybe for a while," she pulled them off and wiggled her toes on the warm and sandy pavement. It wasn't bad at all.

"There you go," he pulled on a pair of Dior sunglasses from his shirt pocket. "Now can we please hurry up a little?"

"One minute," she pulled out a pair of Chanel sunglasses from her Louis Vuitton handbag. "Right."

They rushed down the promenade trying to find Rebecca and hoping that didn't arrive too late. When they arrived at the dock, Edward showed Rebecca's passport photograph to several people. None of them as seen her. He nodded to Belle and they took off again. Looking up at him, Belle secretly smiled. Yeah, she knew why she called him. They were both tired when they finished searching. They both had red cheeks and were sweating.

"I can't say that I'm not happy about not finding her here," he said.

"My socks are ruined," Belle sadly looked at her feet as she slipped back in her shoed. "Oh, my hair must be all fizzy."

He smirked. "Not a full day without Belle Bass complaining. Let's go back to Notre Dame."

She agreed and soon she found herself resting in on a bench in front of the cathedral staring at how doves fought over a piece of bread. Edward came back holding two huge sandwiches.

"What's that?" she disgustedly looked at him.

"Something you're probably not familiar with: lunch," he shoved one in her hands.

"Do you have any idea how many calories this has?"

He was already munching on his own sandwich. She slowly examined it. He rolled his eyes.

"Mon Dieu, it's a stupid Croque Madame ! Eat it or the pigeons will come all over you, » he threatened her.

She gave him a dirty look and then ventured into eating her sandwich. By the time she almost reached half of her sandwich, Edward had finished his.

"Let's get going," he nudged her.

"But I haven't finished, yet!" she complained.

"Take it with you! Stop acting spoiled. While you're here struggling with that some people don't have to money to even buy one!"

"Jeez," she threw the last bit behind her. "Where are we going now?" she asked as they got back in the car.

"I don't know," he seemed frustrated. "She can be anywhere," he peered outside the window.

"I think we should try the Eiffel Tower or Champs Elysee because they're the only places she might know, but I checked the boulevard and she wasn't there."

"Then I guess we can check out the Tower," he said.

As soon as they reached the Eiffel Tower, they started scouting the area.

"No, I couldn't find her!" Belle slapped her hands against her hips.

"Hm…" he growled.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to go up looking for her," he looked at the construction.

"No!" he quickly said. She raised an eyebrow. "I mean you should go, I'll keep looking down here."

"C'mon, don't leave me alone…"she whined.

"I said no!" he snapped.

"Edward…" he looked at him.

"What?" he nervously asked.

"Why don't you wanna come with me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Belle, I lived fifteen years in France. I know the monument by hear. I'm bored of it."

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Belle. Now get up that stupid thing."

"Are you…" she frowned. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"No," he looked away.

"Did you ever go up the Tower?" she calmly asked.

"No," he muttered.

"Then you have to come," she pulled him by the hand. He pulled back. "Let's go!" she pulled him by the hand. He pulled back. "It's not up to you! Think about Rebecca!" she yelled.

He stared at her and found himself following her. He propped his back against the lift's walls; a grim expression on his. He remained there even after all the tourists had left.

"Edward?" Belle looked at him. She softly smiled. "Come with me."

The air was colder and the sun was brighter. He felt his knees drop. No, he couldn't do this.

"Now, we just have to go round this…" she stepped towards the further part of the platform.

"No," he pulled back. He sat on a bench. "I can't do this."

"You don't want to," she rolled her eyes. "Fine, just show her picture to people around here. I'll go look out there."

He did as she told him. Nobody had seen her. He felt like slapping his forehead. Coming to the Eiffel Tower was the stupidest idea ever though when he heard it first it seemed like the most brilliant thing he ever heard. His eyes scanned the platform in search of Belle. She was chatting with some man in the outer part of it. From what it seemed he was showing her something outside. Edward got annoyed. Not by the fact that the stranger had discreetly settled his hand on her waist, but because they were wasting time. He angrily went up to her.

"Edward!" she was amazed. "You came! Oh, but I didn't find her. Gaston here was just showing me the view," she quickly said.

Edward didn't look at her. After a short conversation in French with 'Gaston', he put an arm around Belle's shoulders and ushered her to the lift.

"Why did you do that?" she complained.

"May I remind you that we're here looking for Rebecca? You're not supposed to let yourself chatted up by some stranger," he said.

"You're right, you're right," she looked at her shoes.

Maybe he was a bit too harsh on her. "The view was pretty thought."

"I know. Every time I look I feel like I'm rediscovering it again and again," she said.

He smirked. The only view he ever saw was her, but he wasn't about to say that. "Me too, me too."

"So where to now," she asked as they watch at the big board with the map of Paris at the base of the tower.

Edward checked with his watch. "Well…I was thinking…the most popular place to be all wild and careless and sleep the night would be…" his finger rolled above the map. "Here: Montmartre," he pointed to the square.

"You don't think she spent the night on the steps of the Sacre Coeur?" she asked.

"I hope not," he opened the door for her.

Montmartre was a busy and hectic square. It was full of cafes, strip bars, shops with handmade items, you name it. It was impossible not to get lost among the multitude of colours, voices and scents. Their eyes were sharp as they kept looking for Rebecca. She was nowhere to be found.

"Keep up," he whispered to her and grabbed her hand.

Her heart skipped a beat as her hand fell in his tight grip. She wanted to stop and see if he was all right. Edward had never held her hand. Hell, Edward had never been nice to her in her entire life. Rebecca, Rebecca, she had to keep that in mind. He was even looking at her because of Rebecca. It was a bit heart wrenching for her to see how much he actually cared about the people surrounding him when she knew that they didn't love him half as much as he loved them. Them, they, her mother and never her. As she felt the warmness of his hand she wished that he loved her.

"I'm tired," he scratched the back of his head. "I'm tired and we can't find her…" he fell on a bench. "She can be anywhere…Bastille, Saint-Germain, Ville Saint Michelle," he spoke to himself.

Belle was also tired. The main road of the Latin Quarter was bumpy and crowded. She couldn't recall the last time so many people stepped on her feet. She sat next to him on the bench, slipped off her Prada stilettos and placed her feet underneath her. Her eyes were caught by something. It was something she had never seen before. Just in front of them was a huge wall painted in blue. On the blue surface, with white paint and pink outline, were the words "I love you" written in so many languages.

"What's that," she pointed to it.

"It's the I love you wall, didn't you know?" Edward looked at her.

"No," she continued to stare in amazement.

"It was made by Frederic Baron. It was for a project called 'Around The World in Eighty I Love Yous'," he explained.

"It's pretty…" she sighed. He raised an eyebrow.

"Photo! Photo!" she snapped from her daze.

They both turned. Behind the bench was a funny looking man with a red hat and a camera crying "Photo!"

"Va-t-en!" Edward yelled.

« Edward! » she slapped him on the hand. "Why do you have to be so mean?"

"Photo! Deux Euro! Pour l'éternité!" he said. "Madame! Monsieur!" he motioned them to hug.

"Let's help the man…" she smiled. "Photo!" she waved and leaned closer to Edward.

"What?!" he looked down at her.

He could only smirk at how adorably she smiled. She seemed like a child all over again.

"Magnifique!" the stranger hopped up to them and gave them two photos. "Pour toi," he handed one to Edward. "Et, mademoiselle," he took Belle's hand and gave it a kiss before handing her photo. Edward gave him the money. "Au revoir!"

"Haha," Belle grinned at her photo. "Wasn't that funny."

"I guess it was," he sighed tucking it in his pocket.

"Oh, give it to me," she cried rummaging through her bag in search for a pen.

"What for?" he took it out.

"I'm writing something on the back," she grinned.

"Then it's only fair that I write on yours too," he took hers.

"Go ahead. Done," she gave it to him. She rolled her eyes. "It's late. Let's go back to the hotel and call the police."

He sadly smiled. "I guess we should."

The car took them back to the hotel.

"It was relatively…interesting…to see Paris with you," she said as they reached the entrance.

"Barely," he said.

"Sorry for making you come up here," she looked down.

He pulled up her chin. "For you? Anytime," he smirked.

She smirked back.

She breathed.

He breathed.

They leaned closer to each other.

"Belle!" they heard a familiar cry.

It was Rebecca. "Rebecca!" Belle ran up to her and tightly hugged her. "Don't scare me like that!"

"I'm so sorry," Rebecca cried. "It was awful. I was awful. I'm sorry. I'm never running away."

"You'd better…let's get you in the shower," she wrinkled her nose.

"Ed?" Rebecca was surprised to see him.

"He came here to look for you," Belle said.

"Oh, thanks. I'm so sorry."

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah…I'm fine, I guess," she looked down.

"I'll take her upstairs," Belle said. "Meet us for dinner."

"I will," he watched them leave. He took out his photo. On the back it had nicely written "I was lost in France".

As she waited for Rebecca to get out of the shower, her phone rang.

"Charlotte! Hey! Are you all right?!" she asked.

"Am I all right?! Are you alright? Why did you leave all of a sudden?" she asked.

"Long, long story, but everything's fine now. How about you? Edward told me things are a bit out of control back there."

"Wait, are you speaking with Edward?"

"He came here."

"After you?!"

"No, Rebecca got lost and I called him for help."

"Is she okay now?"

"Everything's fine, but tell me, what the hell is happening there?"

"You wouldn't believe this!"

"What?"

"Serena and Dan Humphrey used to date! They had an affair before Serena got married!"

"Really?"

"And that's not all. Turns out that Kurt might be his son."

"Ew…Gross!"

"That's not all. Kurt may be in love with May!" she cried.

"No…"

"Yes!"

"No, oh my God, this is so twisted!"

"I know, you need to get back, B. Don't tell anything to Rebecca just yet. People here aren't taking the situation very lightly."

"I won't, I won't…keep me in touch and, C?"

"Yeah?"

"Take care of yourself."

"Oh I will. See you soon!"

"Bye…" Belle shut her phone.

She nervously paced around the room. Her hand wandered inside her pocket where she found the photo. It had 'Il y a long temp' written on it. It made no sense to her. It's been a while since what?


Another 4 chapters and they will be posted before September I hope finally.